Speed indicator and recorder.



A. E. VOSS.

SPEED INDICATOR AND RECORDER.

APPMGATION FILED JAN. 27, 190s.

91 9,657, Patented Apr. 27, 1909 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

'Z SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patnte. Apr. 27, 1909.

' ALFRED EMIL voss, or eUNNERsBURY, ENGLAND.

Specification of Letters Patent.

SPEED INDICATOR AND Rnconnnn.

Patented April 27, 1909.

Application led January 27, 1908. Serial No. 412,925.

To all'whom 'it may concern:

-Be it known that I, ALRED EMU; Voss,k

englnee'r, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Oxford road, Gunneisbury, in the county oflMiddlesex, England;l have invented new and useful lmprovements in Speed yIndicators and Recorders, yof which the following is a specification.

In speed indicators and recorders it has before been proposed to use centrifugal mechanismv acting against springs in a similar manner to that adopted in centrifugal governors and to give motion-from such mechanism to an indicator hand or pointer. f' The object of my improvements is to reduce the weight of the revolving parts to a minimumfjso that the indicator hand may alwaysgve correct indications free from the effects of momentum. in place of using solid metallic governor balls or weights which ily outward away from the revolving spindleby which they are carried, as is customary in ordinaryr ce'n t'rifu al governors I substitute for them light fan lades of thin sheetmctal so disposed that as they are carried around by the revolving spindle the air resistance acting `against them tends to move them outward away from the spindle. Their outward movement is thus mainly effected by air resistance and therefore their weight and consequent momentum can bc much reduced.`

IVVhen ordinari)T governor balls are used what is known as hunting takes place,

that is, when the speed is suddenly accelerated the momentum given to the-balls carriesA them too far outward, the springs then suddenly draw them back vagain 'and in turn draws them back too far and so the indi# cator hand is'kept oscillating to and fro and rarely'remain's steady if the speed is constantly being more or less varied as is unavoidable with motor cars and the like. When light fan blades dis kosed in the above manner arey substituted 4fbr governor balls the indicator hand moves steadily from one wposition to anotherv as the speed varies and the constant oscillating yto and fro of the indicator hand is done away with.

,v'lhe fan blades may be carried at the outer ends of arms which are free to turn on pins extending out from opposite sides of and at right angles tof4 the spindle so that the arms are free toturnfeither -into positions ap'- 'lo effect this proaching 'to parallelism with the spindle or into positions approaching to a plane at 1 right angles to it. v v One blade may be carried at the end of any arm extending from the spindle in one direction and another at the end of an arm extending in the opposite direction.

The two arms may be coupled by links to i two sleeves or collars which surround the spindle and are free to slide along it. Coiled4 springs surrounding the spindle may ybe in, l

toi-posed between the two collars to press; them away from one another and t'cnd always -to turn the arms into positions apy preaching to parallelism with the spindle.

WV hen the arms are turned into a 'position at right angles to the spindle the blades carried by them lie on one side of or mostlyon one side of a radial line extending fromthe spindle in a direction at right angles to the lpins on which the arms turn. v

When the arms and the fan blades carried by them are turned into positions approaching to parallelism with the spindle and the spindle is revolved, the leading flat face of each fan blade is driven against thc air and the pressure of air against it tends to turn the arm which carries the blade toward a posi- `tion at right angles to the spindle and this movement will be more or less impeded by Vthe action of the springs.

lVhen the arms are brought into such a position that they lie in a plane at right angles to the spindle the blades may lie flat in this plane or they may' be made to incline somewhat from 'this position so that they may then form approximately part of a screw thread of slow pitch. In this 'way they may be made to continuo to act as fan blades even when turned into this position.

ln the drawings annexed Figure 1 is a face view ofthe instrument with thecovcr and dial plate removed. Fig. 2 is a side elevation with the base plate in section in a plane passing through the longitudinal central line of the main spindle. Fig. 3 is a central vertical section of the instrument with the parts contained in the lower part of the casing 4 shown in full andflig. .-1 is a section of an oil v supplying device for automatically supplying oil tothe partswvliich require to be lubricated. F/ig. 5 isan enlarged elevation of a portion `of c the revolving spindle and. the springs surrounding it. Figs. (S 'and 7 are ele- I vations of a portionof the revolving spindle and one ofthe fan blades, showing the blade cally part toothed wheel 7 may be driven in any suitable manner.

v Passing through the spindle is a transverse spindle 8, each end of this transverse spindle has turning` upon it an arm Q at the end of which is carried a thin fan blade 10. The two arms extend in o )posite directions and may be coupled togctlicr with distance pieces between them as shown. The blade carried by one arm extends sidewise Jfrom it in one direction and the blade carried by the other extends sidewise in the opposite direction as shown at Fig. 2'.

18 turnin on a fulcrum 19.

turn the spindle 16 in a direction to bring 11 is a link connecting one arm" 9 'with a collar`12 Whichis free to slide` along the spindle 5 and similarly the other arm is coupled by another link 1l with another collar 13.

14 are two coiled springs surrounding the spindle 5 one within the other and of difierent lengths placed in between the two collars 12, 13. Then the spindle is revolving slowly the collars are restrained from moving toward one another by the longer spring only which may be a very light one but as the speed of revolution is increased and the collars come closer together the shorter spring or springs come into action and assist in pressing the collars apart.

15 is an indicator hand on a s )indle 16.

17 is a coiled spring which ten always to the indicator hand to its zero position. To give a partial turn in the op osite direction to this spindle from the col ar 12 when it moves toward the collar 13- l .employ a lever Theend of on e arm of t e lever is made to form a stop against which a short arm 20 projecting l'rom the s indle 16 is held by the action of the coile spring 17. The end of the other arm of the lever 1s by the action of the'spring lie t bearing against the collar 12. Thus as t'iie collar moves to and fro along the spindle 5 a turning movementv is given to the spindle 16 Vand so to the indicator hand.

, To record the total number of revolutions made by the driving toothed wheel 7, one face of this wheel has upon it an inclined cam path 21 fromV which a to and fro motion is given to a slide 22 which i's held 'against it by a spring 23. A awl 24 carried by the slide engages with an drives a ratchet wheel 25 and so gives motion to a train of ordinary recording Wheels in a casing 26. The spindle 27 of the ratchet Wheel 25 l also prolong as shown in Fig. 1 and form upon it a worm 2S by which a slow revolving motion is given to a nut 29, This nut as it is turned gives an endwisc movement to a screw rod 30 which is fixed to a piston 31 Working in a cylinder 32 containing lubricatingvoil. In this Way the turning of the Worm. gives a slow movement to the piston 31 and forcing it against the lubricant contained in the cylinder forces the lubricant through channels 33 to .the various points` at which lubrication has to be provid for.

l`o provide means for locking the indicator hand in whatever position it may happen to be in at any onetime, one end of the spindle is formed with a tapering point as shown in Fig. 3 against which a tapering socket in a sliding block 34 can be pressed by the action of a spring 35 and by the 'friction thereby put upon it restrain the spindle from being turned away from the position it may then be in.

Normally the sliding block is held back by a head at thc end of its stem resting against an incline on a segment 3G but when the indicator hand is to bc locked to keep a record of the speed at that particular time thc incline is moved away by giving a partial turn to the segment 36 .by its handle 37.

Speed indicators and recorders constructed in the above manner are applicable not only for indicating the speed at which motor cars and the like are being driven and for recordinw the distance traveled but are also applica le for indicating and recording the speed and total number of revolutions made by any revolving wheel or spindle.

What l claim is:-

1. In a speed indicator, the combination of a driven revolving spindle, a second spindle carried by and at right angles to the driven spindle, an arm upon this spindle, means tendine' to turn the arm toward a position parallel with the driven spindle, a fan blade carried by thc outer end oi the arm which lies mostly on one side of a radial line extending from the driven spindle in a direction at right angles to the second spindle so that the resistance oi' air against the fan blade when the driven spindle revolves may cause the arm to turn outward away from the spindle, an indicator and means by which the indicator is shifted by the movement of the arm.

2. ln a speed indicator, the combination of a driven revolving spindle, `a second spindle carried by and arranged at right angles to the driven spindle, an arm free to turn on said second spindle, means tending to turn the arm toward a position parallel with the driven spindle, a fan blade carried by the outer end `of the arm which not onl lies on one side ol'A a radial line extending from the driven spindle in a direction at right angles to the secpnd spindle, but which also forms approximately a portion of a screw-thread around the spindle when the arms nre :tt

the movement o1' the arm.

3. In a speed indicator, the comhimttion ol' :t spindle, means for trmismitting n revolving motion to this spindle, :L se :ond spindle projecting ont from the hrst 'at right :ingles to it,

:in arm free to turn on this second spindle, uV

l'an blade carried by the erm which h v the re sistance ol' the air against it tends to move outward away from the spindle :is the spindle revolves, it coller surrounding the driven spindle and mezins hy which the coller is shifted to und fro along the drivingr spindle es the :trin turns on the second spindle, a spring actingnpon the collar in a, direction to turn the arm toward :L position parallel with the driven spindle, :in indicator und ineens lor transmitting motion to the indi cater from the sliding collar.

4. ln it speed indicator, the combination ol' e spindle, ineens lor transmitting :t revolving motion to this spindle, a), second spindle catrried hy the lirst :it right :ingles to it, :irms lree to turn on this second spindle, l'ztn blades cznried by the iii-nis, two collars t'ree to slide,

along the driven spindle, links connecting l these collars to the :trms o`ne to one urn) exl tending ont l'rom one sidelof the spindle the l other to :mother :irm extending ont from the l opposite side ol' the spindle, ai, coiled springt,r

snrroundir j the spindle interposed between the two collins, :in indicator end means for l transmitting motion to the indicator from 1 one ol the sliding collars.

ln :t speed iinlicattor/tlie combination ol. the spindle 5, transverse spindle S carried by it, nrins J free to tnrlnon' the transverse spindle, lan hlznles iff.) certfied h v the zirms, collars l2 inni lv lree to sl'lil'e nlongl" the spindle, spring lil sin-rounding thi spindle and interposed between the collars, linlis .l1 coupling the collars to the zn'ms Si), nn indicator lnrnd is arranged, :i spring 1T acting to turn this spindle in one direction, :in arm 2() projecting l'roin this spindle und et lever t8 one end ol' which rests against one 0l: the collars zn'ni 2() is held hy the :ietion of the spring 17.A

ALFRED FMIL VOSS.

l'lfitnesses'.

ll. l). Jiiinfzson', E. WniinNe.

lntnd 15H1 spindle lo on which the indicator i while its other end forms it stop :igainst which f' 

